What to watch for in this weekend’s NFL divisional playoffs - or, in NBA terms, the conference semifinals:
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• New Orleans at San Francisco, 2:30 p.m. Saturday
This is a classic matchup of offense vs. defense. The Saints have the NFL’s top-ranked offense, which averaged 467 total yards during the regular season and cranked it up to 626 yards in a wild card victory over Detroit.
But the Saints have only the No. 24 defense. So can former Utah quarterback Alex Smith exploit them enough to give his team a chance of keeping up with Drew Brees? Running back Frank Gore and the 49ers’ offensive line will have a lot to say about that.
The 49ers also have the league’s No. 4 defense, which should enable them to stay close. The biggest variable is how the Niners will respond in their first playoff game in nine years.
Local connections: Smith is the focal point, making his first playoff appearance in his seventh pro season. The Saints have Weber State product Pat McQuistan, a reserve offensive lineman.
• Denver at New England, 6 p.m. Saturday
After delivering an overtime victory over Pittsburgh in the wild card round, can Denver quarterback Tim Tebow do it again? That’s everybody’s question surrounding this game, which brings up this seemingly unimaginable notion: New England’s Tom Brady is not the most talked-about quarterback in the game.
The real issue is whether Denver’s defense can stop Brady and the Patriots’ No. 2-ranked offense. If they can contain New England, the Broncos may have a chance for an upset. Tebow should have some success against the Patriots’ No. 31 (second to last) defense. Denver moved the ball well early in the game against New England on Dec. 18 before stalling in a 41-23 defeat.
Local connection: Zane Beadles, from Hillcrest High School and the University of Utah, is the Broncos’ starting left guard, becoming one of the better linemen in the league.
• Houston at Baltimore, 11 a.m. Sunday
This game is all defense, all the time. Both teams will try to run the ball and are unlikely to have much success, which in turn means that quarterbacks T.J. Yates of Houston and Joe Flacco of Baltimore will be asked to complete passes against two of the top three defenses in the NFL.
Yates is a rookie, while Flacco has considerable playoff experience, although he has not managed get the Ravens into the Super Bowl.
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